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Some Notes about Mental Health and the Hiring Process


Labyrinth

In a recent post I noted that concern over post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could be one reason for high unemployment rates among veterans.  Potential employers may fear—or even assume–that soldiers who served in combat zones are likely to suffer from PTSD.  And unfortunately, it’s not possible to dismiss these concerns as unjustified.  Rates of depression, dysfunction, and even suicide are reportedly high among troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the other hand, not all or even most combat veterans experience psychological difficulties, and even those who do are not necessarily unable to become productive employees.  As AMVETS communications director Ryan Gallucci explained in a recent Washington Post op-ed:

Veterans’ advocates and media outlets have called attention to how PTSD is a normal reaction to the abnormal and profound realities of combat. This message was intended to help veterans recognize it is okay to seek counseling while readjusting to civilian life. Unfortunately, the public may have received the message differently, assuming that all of today’s military men and women must suffer from some kind of mental illness.

In reality, any job applicant, veteran or not, could be experiencing psychological difficulties, or might have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder.  So it is no more fair to assume that vets are ticking time bombs than to think of every job-seeker as a closet crazy.

Mental health is a complex matter, and there are no simple answers to the dilemmas faced by recruiters and HR organizations.  The best plan is to take a step back, view the entire issue objectively, and approach it as a matter of good management.  The Canadian consulting group Mental Health Works offers some excellent information for employers, including an overview of best practices for the hiring process.  A couple of key tips:

  • When creating/posting job descriptions, identify any essential psychological skills required for the position. “Include any interpersonal or ‘emotional’ competencies that the job requires, such as the ability to multi-task or strong decision-making skills under pressure.”
  • When reviewing resumes, don’t assume that gaps necessarily mean an employee is not capable. “People with a mental illness may have gaps in their resume due to periods of illness or hospitalization,” but if your organization is committed to equal opportunity hiring for people with disabilities, that fact should not be disqualifying.

Unlike physical disability, which is often evident and relatively easy to understand, mental illness can seem like a mystery—and that makes it more difficult to craft and implement positive policies in this area.  For a better understanding of the psychological challenges that face combat troops, read about an innovative program that embeds mental health professionals in U.S. National Guard units.  And for insider views of living with mental challenges, learn from Temple Grandin (an expert on animal behavior who writes about her experiences as an autistic person) and Kay Redfield Jamison (a psychiatrist who herself copes with manic-depression).


(Thanks to AnonMoos—great handle!–for the graphic variation on a classic Cretan labyrinth.)

Gen Z: New Kids in the World

In the month of May, 2010, 13-year-old Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest, and 16-year-old Jessica Watson completed her solo sail around the world.  Meanwhile the preternaturally gorgeous and phenomenally talented jazz singer Nikki Yanofsky—who was just 12 when she debuted at the 2006 Montreal Jazz Festival–has released her first major CD.  (Even if you’re not a jazz enthusiast, listen to her ballistic version of Take the “A” Train . . . and marvel.)

Right around age 12 seems to be the new normal for launching a superstar career.  The Today Show recently featured a segment with pre-teen movie critic Jackson Murphy (youngest nominee ever for a NY Emmy) and sixth-grader Grayson Crouch went straight from a school recital to a major recording contract, after posting his Lady Gaga cover on YouTube.

So what’s up with these kids?  And why should you care?

There have always been young phenoms (think Judy Garland or the Jackson Five)—and in any case, your company probably doesn’t need to hire any juvenile sailors or singers.  But these young people are different from the shooting stars of yesteryear, and they are setting a brand new standard for their generation.  That’s the generation, by the way, that will be knocking on corporate doors in just a few years.

Child stars of the past were almost all either “managed” into the limelight by their parents, or they were born into show biz families.  Most struggled with fame and many lost the fight, ultimately succumbing to drugs, criminal behavior, even suicide.  The list of those casualties would be very long.

But these new exemplars seem different: composed, self-directed, realistic, and multi-talented.  They are members of “Generation Z,” a born-after-1995 group also referred to as “Net Gen” because they have grown up with the everywhere Internet.  Their constant exposure to information and entertainment may have created a higher level of talent maturity—and of course the broad opportunities for personal exposure today make it easier for people in general (even oldsters like Susan Boyle) to find fame.  There’s a lot more to consider about Gen Z, though . . .

For some useful insights, check out Penelope Trunk’s post What Generation Z Will Be Like at Work.  In fact, browse around her Brazen Careerist blog, which offers young professionals frank advice “at the intersection of life and work.”  If you’re not in or that familiar with Gen Y, a few minutes in Penelope Trunk’s world will give you a sense of how (and how much) it differs from Gen X.

Then consider that Gen Z is likely to be even more different its predecessor, and you have some idea of what it may be like to recruit the graduates of 2015 and beyond.  Takeaway: Start thinking about the next wave of workers RIGHT NOW.  These kids aren’t losing any time–and neither should businesses that want to grab the best and brightest ahead of their competition.

Needless to say, this will require a corporate website located on the leading edge of design, content, and functionality.

Unintended Consequences: Rising Veteran Unemployment


Toyota Vets

The unemployment rate among U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan has been increasing every year—all the way from 6.1% in 2007 to 14.7% in March, 2010.

Obviously, unemployment is higher overall in 2010.  But in March the composite national rate was about 10%, which means there’s a big difference between vets and most other groups.

A recent USA Today story cites three specific reasons for the high rate of veteran unemployment:

1.  Difficulty in translating military skills to civilian job requirements
2.  Employer worries that reservists will be redeployed
3.  Employer concerns about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Reason 2 is just plain practical, from an employer viewpoint—and while very large companies can absorb the absence of employees during deployment, it’s a tougher call for small organizations.  But Reasons 1 and 3 are more complicated.

USA Today notes that vets often have skills that would be very valuable to business, but the skills don’t translate well into “job-application language that civilian employers can grasp.”  To expand transition opportunities for veterans, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has introduced legislation that would add apprenticeship programs to educational options under the G.I. Bill, improve resume training, and provide assistance to vets starting small business.

Those measures would certainly help, if passed.  But more business leadership on this topic could also be vital–and a great first step would be a close look at the recruitment process itself.  For one thing, consider the usual emphasis on finding “passive candidates” and “A-level talent.”  Could some of that effort go toward identifying high-value vets?  And for another, examine the amount of reliance on keyword-screening of resumes and applications.  That approach tends to favor applicants who have highly developed job-seeking skills, and may disadvantage men and women recently out of the service.

On the corporate website, check for any subtle factors that might discourage or disadvantage vets, then consider adding (or emphasizing) positive messages.  For one good example of veteran outreach, drop by the Toyota Careers page, where a prominent link leads to their Hire a Hero microsite.

For another example, check out Home Depot, which established its Military Partnership program in 2004.  HD offers a detailed view of its programs supporting employment for service families (including a special invitation to military spouses) and provides a simple, step-by-step guide to job application.  Then listen in on a discussion of how Sodexo uses social media to recruit from the military community.

A lot more ideas, plus a generous helping of inspiration, can be found at G.I. Jobs.com.  And for a U.K. view, visit Veterans World.  Though it may be a bit of cliché, it’s worth repeating that people who have given service to their country deserve at least an even chance to enjoy the benefits they help to secure. Hopefully that’s a position all parties can agree on.

As for PSTD . . . look for a post soon on mental health and corporate recruitment.

Oil Companies Among The Best | FTSE 100 Website Reviews

Classic Oil Rig TrimThere are some business sectors for whom sustainability is a hot issue, and with oil spilling all over the Gulf of Mexico and Shell recently admitting it hadn’t done enough in the Niger Delta, oil producers are definitely among those with the greatest CSR problems in the world.

So perhaps it’s not surprising then to find that they have some of the most progressive CSR websites around.

One of the facets which leads to this conclusion is the sites’ interactive data provision.  This was pioneered a few years ago by Shell but, in a fine example of site content competitiveness, BP has also introduced its own set of interactive data tools as have several others.

However, if this innovation is left to one side, how else do the websites perform?  In a slight change to previous FTSE 100 Website Reviews, this one looks not just at two big hitters within the UK, BP and Shell, but also one from continental Europe, Total, and one from the USA, Exxon Mobil.

Interestingly, these are also respectively the fourth, first, sixth and second largest companies in the world, according to Forbes.  Will their websites reflect this?

BP

BP at present is all over the news because of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and it’s interesting to note that other oil companies have not been shy in issuing press releases about what they think BP should be doing to “plug the leak”.

It’s unsurprising therefore to find that the BP site has a special “Gulf of Mexico response” section on its top level menu bar.  I have long bemoaned the fact companies rarely react to bad news on their websites, simply because it’s a perfect stakeholder engagement opportunity which should not be missed.

BP make the case for such bad news sections admirably, with daily updates, technical briefings, regional responses and all sorts of maps and data.  Admittedly there are few bad news stories worse than Deepwater Horizon, but then not every one needs such comprehensive coverage.  Just ignoring the issue, however, tends to alienate stakeholders, not engage them.

The company’s more traditional CSR section, headlined “Environment and society”, covers a wide variety of issues from traditional Environment management to Alternative energy and the “BP Energy Lab”.  This latter includes an energy consumption calculator, a fun energy quiz and the ability to share an energy fact with other website users.

The site, in BP’s green and yellow livery, is surprising on the eye rather than shocking, but with every page throwing up context sensitive links in the right hand column there’s more than enough to keep you interested in discovering more.

Total Experts Opinion — Henri Leridon

Shell

Shell is one of the few websites these days which does not have a main menu banner across the top of its pages.  Instead it has a more traditional breadcrumb trail and uses solely the headings in the left hand column to provide visitor navigation.

This can give the impression there is less content on the “Environment and society” site than there really is as, quite sensibly, the left hand menus contract as you move from section to section.  However the full set of section headings is presented in the page footers and visitors may navigate from there.

Interestingly, Shell maintains dedicated country-based independent websites (presumably based upon its operational locations).  Each of these conforms precisely to the Shell corporate layout but each has its own “Environment and society” content focusing upon the specific issues which that country faces.

The content isn’t allowed too far off the leash and most of the subsections refer the reader to the global site, for further information, and the company’s overall sustainability report.  However, this is a nice nod in the direction of acknowledging that different communities need very different engagement from a corporate multinational.

Like BP, Shell follows its corporate livery and has designed the site around the red and yellow of its logo.  However this is barely noticeable and the majority of pages are a simple and unobtrusive affair of black text on a white background with a splash of colour at the top.

Total

Unlike BP and Shell, Total’s website is not based around its logo colours.  Instead it uses a big bold frame to surround its content whose colour is determined by the section being viewed: for example orange for “About Us”, blue for “Investors” and green for “Environment and society”.

The sections the company uses approach the material from a slightly different angle to most. with two of the sections titled “contributing to host country development” and “operating in challenging environments”.  There’s even a section on socially responsible investment within the investors section.

Probably the most interesting part of their website though is the innocuously named “Expert infos” section.  This contains some brief Q&A sessions held with some French luminaries, such as the co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the European Chair of Sustainable Development – Environment, Energy and Society at Collège de France.

A fair few of these are involved in Total operations in one way or another, so a small bit of salt needs to be taken with the information.  However by no means all of the detail is aimed at puffing up Total and it is refreshing to see information provided for information’s sake.  Very French, given the country’s tradition of philosophical discourse.

It is this slightly different approach to sustainability which draws you into the Total website, alongside the accessibility innovation of having most if not all of the website pages available in audio form as well.

ExxonMobil Corporate Citizenship Op Eds.

ExxonMobil

Exxon Mobil’s website is interesting for a number of reasons.  The first is that it has one of the most comprehensive corporate News sections on the web.  Press releases are not limited just to Investor Relations matters but cover all aspects of the company’s operations, ranging in May from the appointment of directors to the preparedness of Red Cross volunteers ahead of hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico.

However these are just the tip of the iceberg.  The section also includes “thoughts”, “publications” and “features”.  Although these are not categorised, because energy and oil is very much under the sustainability spotlight practically all are relevant in one way or another.

In addition, the company’s “op-ed” section is categorised.  This holds an archive of all the opinion pieces the company has had published in a variety of  journals and newspapers, such as the New York Times.

It is this thoroughness which pervades the rest of the company’s CSR offering, which eschews the European categorisation and is split between “energy and environment” and “community and society” sections.  Each neatly and succinctly keeps the section’s main headings and quick links in the left hand column with sitewide widgets in the right hand one and main content in the centre.

In total, a well presented site whose blue-grey design and mix of words and white space makes it easy to spend time on and investigate further.

Conclusion

It’s difficult to pick one site over another simply because different points of emphasis creates such a variety it would be manifestly unfair to say one way better than the other.

However, the oil extraction and refinement business has long been under the sustainability spotlight and if other companies wish to find out how to write the perfect sustainability website they could do a lot worse then scrutinise these.

Picture Credit: Classic Oil Rig by epredator from flickr under Creative Commons Attribution License, trimmed by Chris Milton.

“Careers” Meets Crisis: BP

 

BP Screenshot

Is there any good way for the corporate Careers page to deal with a highly publicized business problem such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill?

Certainly there is no easy answer to that question, but there are two conventional approaches:

  1. Completely separate the crisis from everything else, including Careers, or
  2. Distribute the crisis message throughout all corporate communications

BP has apparently chosen Option 1.

The BP website has a tab labeled Gulf Response.  Other than that—not a mention of the crisis anywhere.  Not on the Investor Relations page, not on the Careers page, not on the Home page.  Not anywhere, at least as of May 31.

There’s an argument to be made for the isolation strategy, and in some cases it probably is the best approach.  But given the extent and the notoriety of BP’s current crisis, the absence of mention seems seriously unrealistic.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone will come to the BP site without a general awareness of the enormous, still ongoing problem that now confronts the company.  So it seems unfortunate to have the following text in the box titled “Featured job category”:

BP has a remarkable record of exploration – one that’s taken us from the Gulf of Mexico to Indonesia. That’s why we need people with exceptional talents and training to help us make every well better than the last.

Rewriting the Careers page is understandably not a top priority for a company in crisis.  But in BP’s case, all the pages seem untouched, so it’s probably not a matter of priorities, but rather of strategy.

Toyota is the only company that can reasonably be compared with BP in terms of crisis management, at least in recent times.  So how has Toyota dealt with this problem?  In a surprisingly simple—and fairly effective—way:  They have a News feed on the Careers landing page.  Also on the About the Company landing page.

The “News” items are mainly company press releases, so the messaging is controlled.  But there is still an impression of transparency.  And the inclusion of a News section at least acknowledges that something is going on . . .

Beyond the corporate website, BP has a growing social media problem.   A CNNMoney.com story reported on May 26 that “an online movement to boycott BP for its role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is growing at a rate of better than 25,000 names a day.”  That won’t hurt BP financially (they don’t own the 11,500 U.S. stations selling their gas), and even if public attitudes did affect their sales, the amount of money lost wouldn’t be a drop in the ocean compared to their other looming losses.  So what difference does it really make if people vent about the company online?

That remains to be seen.  But one reality is that some people thinking of a career with BP will think twice—and may well choose a company that seems more forthcoming.

Huge Growth Coming for B2B Social Media Marketing Spending

keyboard_computer_internetAccording to reports by Outsell and Forrester Research, social media marketing spending by business-to-business companies is expected to grow by 43.3% in 2010 and will hit $54 million in 2014 (up from $11 million in 2009).

Is your company ready for what’s being called the business-to-business social media marketing explosion?

Business-to-business companies are shifting marketing budget dollars to social media and online marketing quickly in order to leverage the opportunities the social Web presents, even though according to a November 2009 survey by Business.com (reported by eMarketer), 73% of business-to-business marketers who were using social media had less than two years of social media marketing experience.  That’s nearly 3 out of 4 people who really don’t know what they’re doing, but they’ll be getting more money to keep doing it.

Following is the breakdown of the change in social media marketing spending for several popular initiatives among business-to-business marketers in 2010:

  • Spending on social networking sites: up 43.3%
  • Spending on webinars: up 26.0%
  • Spending on search engines: up 17.1%
  • Spending on company Web sites: up 7.5%

I should point out that I’d argue that spending on search engines and company Web sites doesn’t necessarily equate to social media marketing spending in my book, so take that into consideration when you look at the results above.

Business-to-business social media marketing might happen on different branded destinations than business-to-consumer marketing and the type of shareworthy content a company publishes is certainly different, but the underlying principles and strategies of social media marketing still apply regardless of what you’re selling and to whom.  Just as with traditional marketing, you have to modify your placement and messages to match your audience.  In other words, you need to find your target audience online, and start and join the conversations that matter to them.  Until you take that step, your social media marketing investments can only take you so far.

Should business-to-business companies increase their social media marketing spending sooner rather than later?  Absolutely.  Why?  Because their clients and customers are spending time on the social Web.  Would you ignore those people if they were standing in front of you ready to engage in conversations that interest them?  No.  Then why would you ignore them on the social Web? Get out there, find your audience, and start interacting with them!

Image: stock.xchng